Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Help Me Help You: Storytime

Part 2 is all about storytime!









Stacy Dillon said...

Cell phones. Please don't talk on your cell while you are at story time.

Jennifer said...

Our storytime patrons are really excellent in general....but the whole unattended children thing, well. Our children's area is out of sight of the computers but people will just send their toddlers and preschoolers over on their own. Even me telling them about the two child predators caught in the library last year doesn't seem to make any difference - I've seen people leave their unattended purses in the children's area too. It's nice that people feel safe at the library, but not really a good idea.

David Grizzly Smith said...

My Mom was a librarian when I was a kid. When Mom was working, it was fairly common for us to be left in the Children's Library area most of the day while Mom worked up in the Reference Room.

But of course, Mom worked there, and this was back in the 1960's. These days, it's unsafe to leave kids in their own houses.

Tara said...

Awesome post! I love story time at the library. My daughter and I have been enjoying the library together since she was in a snuggly and she is now in JK reading chapter books. My son (2.5) on the other hand just ran away on my husband and I in the library last week. To him, the library is an amazing labyrinth for playing hide-and-seek. He made it up three flights of stairs while we were searching for him on the ground floor. A very kind librarian and security guard helped us locate him after a parent saw me guarding the front entrance in a panic. The librarian did not look at me like I was a neglectful parent. (Perhaps she saw the jail break in action.)
Thank you to all of the librarians out there who understand that we do our best to encourage our kids to be on their best behaviour in storybook world, even though sometimes they are JUST NOT INTO IT.

AJ said...

Awesome post. Our Children's Room is on another floor from pretty much everything else in the building and we get the unattended children issue all the time.

I'd add a general courtesy that people don't seem to think about anymore: If you registered for a program with limited space, it's nice to let the library know you won't be making it. Emergencies happen, but when you know you can't make it letting the library know means someone else might get a chance to attend.

Cat Fancy said...

Everything in this post is so true! I wish I could print it out, frame it, and post it on the door to the story room. I would also underline the whole part about not socializing with other parents during the stories.

Jennie said...

It's ok to come in late, but try to wait for a break in the action, especially if you're a large group.

Also, a good librarian will make story time look effortless, but there is a lot of planning and work that goes into each one. (1 30-minute program took at least an hour or two of prep work)

Ditto on the cell phones

Ditto on the unattended children (I still have parents look at me like I sprouted another head when I tell them they can't leave their 2-year-old alone in the children's room! And I have a local law on my side, so it's not just library policy!)

Ditto on leaving if it's not working for you that day. It happens. Come back next week. Heck, leave for 5-10 minutes and then come back in.

Related: It's ok to come even if you know your child won't be able to sit through the entire program. Come for as long as they can handle and then leave. It's ok!

And Tara-- there is a HUGE difference between "child running away" (which happens) and "ok, sit over here while Mom goes to the other side of the building to do her own thing"

Carrie said...

I love this post. I do storytime at our local bookstore and I heartily agree with all of your statements, especially the one about us not being babysitters. We run into this problem a lot at our store. It always amazes me how people will leave their children at the train and wander around the store.

Lizzy Maupin said...

Perhaps we should tell parents it is OK—better even—to participate in story time. I think that parents forget that they are supposed to model things for their children.

Nothing creases my book pages more than a parent who won’t participate in story time, but expects his/her child to. Sit on the floor with the child; dance and sing with the librarian and children; if there are activities after the reading and singing, by all means do those with the child; help the child make a craft, talk to him/her about what he/she is doing; etc.

If parents make it obvious they don’t care about story time, why should children care?

Also, Dads are welcome as are BOTH parents.

Kelly said...

Thank you for this post! The last one is a great reminder for all of us, especially. :)

austentatious said...

Lizzy, I totally agree with you. I think parents should definitely be involved in the story times with their kids. Parents not participating (chatting, texting, pushing the kids to do something the parent wouldn't dream of) was one of my biggest pet peeves when I did story times. Parents need to set a good example for their kids in story time, and you're right, if it looks like the parent doesn't care, why should the kid?

Unknown said...

I really like the idea of letting parents know it's okay to leave if it's not working. I hadn't thought of doing that during my "I don't expect your toddler to be perfect" bit at the beginning of a storytime session. It's amazing how one kid being a bit crazy can easily distract an entire group -- and how often a parent will pretend it's not happening. I like to think I'm pretty good at grabbing and keeping attention, but some days... So thank you, I'll be adding that to my pre-session talk.

Anonymous said...

Please don't send your child in with a bag full of toys they'll be playing with while the storyteller tries to keep everyone's attention. You can always play with toys at home. Give the storyteller a fighting chance to engage your child!